


Braids and Beauties

by tini_dancer



Series: tini_dancer’s JATP One-Shot Collection [4]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Canon LGBTQ Character, First Kiss, Getting Together, Hair Braiding, I suck at tagging, I'm Sorry, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Past and Present, alex has a sister, alex's family is homophobic obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27344278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tini_dancer/pseuds/tini_dancer
Summary: Two instances where Alex braids the hair of someone important in his life. One represents him having to hide himself, the other him embracing who he is and what he wants.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: tini_dancer’s JATP One-Shot Collection [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956655
Comments: 6
Kudos: 249





	Braids and Beauties

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warnings:  
> -mentions of homophobia  
> -mentions of bullying
> 
> Other notes:  
> -takes place in the timeline of all my other one shots, but can be read alone  
> -for this one, I recommend reading the one shot that comes before this, for it takes place the day after

**December, 1994**

The ironically soft sound of Poison played in the background as Alex looked at himself in the full length mirror. He hated times like this. Sure, he was used to wearing button-up shirts and dress pants, he did spend most of his life attending church and went to catholic school until 9th grade, but after everything he had been through by that December night, it didn’t feel right. It never did, but it felt even worse after finally being able to dress like himself.

Alex never truly understood why his parents were so adamant of him and his sister dressing up for school, even public school, in his case. For two and a half years, Alex would get bullied for wearing “teacher clothes” to school, with polos and khakis and gelled hair. Now he just got bullied for being gay. But at least they didn’t make fun of his looks anymore. 

But there, in the mirror, stood an awkward blond kid with a striped long sleeved button-up, tan dress pants, dress shoes, and hair gently combed and gelled, just like he used to do every day before he came out. But the occasion called for this level of wear, so at least he would blend in with the crowd. Even so, this did not feel like him. He couldn’t even add a splash of color or else he would get yelled at. Or worse, outed to his grandparents.

He looked down at his wrist and sighed. He slowly loosened and removed his bracelet, the little rainbow squares barely noticeable unless you looked directly at his wrist, which normal people didn’t usually do. But his grandparents didn’t know he was gay, and even if he had the guts to be out to his parents, he sure wasn’t ready for the hell that would come with both sets of grandparents knowing, which were both currently in the living room downstairs, waiting for the whole family to be ready.

It was only one night. One night and he could go back to wearing his pink hoodie and music shirts. 

“Allie?” A shy voice came from the door.

Alex turned his head and couldn’t help but smile. At the door stood his little sister, looking as beautiful as ever. She was in her traditional school uniform, and she had no makeup on (she was only eleven, after all), but her giddiness for that night made her shine bright. Alex set his bracelet on his nightstand and sat on his bed, “What’s up, Katie-bear?”

Katie walked in Alex’s room with a few items in her arms, including a hair brush, hairspray, and some rubber bands. Alex knew what she was asking. He made room for her next to him and patted the spot, “Come here.”

She practically jumped to the spot and Alex took the brush, “What do you want, Katie?”

“Just a normal french braid, please.”

Alex winked and got to work, moving to be behind her and began to brush her hair, “You know, you don’t need to use all of the pleasantries with me. I’m your brother, not your teacher. Or mom.”

“I know,” Katie giggled, “I’m just used to it, I guess. Mommy and daddy expect it so much, I’m surprised you don’t.”

Alex’s parents made it very clear to him that Katie never find out about his “differences,” meaning that she didn’t know that he was gay or that he was a lot more chill than his parents. He usually did this by leaving for school before Katie (Bobby picked him up) and wearing a grey hoodie over his usual pastel shirts at dinner. And he never talked romance around her. She had met Luke on a few occasions, but of course she didn’t know that he was her brother’s boyfriend (at the time, they had broken up, for the second time, nearly a month ago). She didn’t even know he was a part of a band, let alone a rock band. He wished it were different, but he had enough respect to grant his parents that one wish. 

“Why don’t you, mommy, and daddy talk a lot?” Katie asked as Alex began the braid at the top of her head.

“We…we just never have a lot to talk about,” Alex bit his lip, “Not a lot happens at school. I don’t do much outside of classes and homework. You, on the other hand, have such an interesting life. I mean, you have a solo tonight! I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m nervous...I’m not that good of a singer.”

Alex peared around her and raised his eyebrow, “Katie, you are one of the best singers I’ve ever met or heard. You deserve that solo.”

“But the whole school will be there,” Katie’s voice was becoming shaky, “and their families. And everyone will have cameras. I don’t know if I can do it.”

Alex frowned. Lately, he had noticed that both of them had some level of anxiety, him having dealt with it since he was her age. He quickly finished off the braid and got off the bed, kneeling in front of her.

“Katie-bear… I know what it’s like to get stage fright. I used to be in the school choir, too, remember? I never had a solo and I still felt like throwing up before every performance. But, in the end, it was always so much fun. And it always went well. You have nothing to worry about.”

Katie smiled as a loose strand of her blonde hair fell in front of her face. She leaned down and kissed her brother on the top of his head, then hugged him. After that, Alex took the hairspray and secured her braid. She was such a beautiful young lady, even at only eleven years old. Alex and his sister looked a lot alike, but Katie had such an innocent beauty to her that made everyone around her smile. He couldn’t imagine his life without her.

“Kathryn, Alexander, it’s time to go!” Their mother’s voice called from downstairs.

Alex grinned at his sister, then moved to turn off his music. He put the vinyl record back in its cover and put it in his case of records. He put some strawberry chapstick on really quick before grabbing his sister’s hand and exiting his room.

“Thank you for doing my hair, Allie,” Katie smiled as they got to the staircase.

He bent down and kissed the top of her head, “Always, Katie-bear. I’ll do it any time you want me to. Now, you are going to rock that choir concert.”

~~~~

**November, 2020**

Alex sat near the water, his bare feet digging into the sand. He couldn’t necessarily get dirty, since he was a ghost, but the feel of the sand between his toes felt nice. It reminded him of beach days with the boys and old family vacations to Florida and Mexico. Him and Katie would build sandcastles and bury their father. That was back when they truly felt like a family. By the time Alex died, it surely wasn’t like that anymore.

He often wondered what had happened to Katie. She was, what, 37 by now? She most likely had a perfect heterosexual marriage and at least two perfect kids. To Alex, everything Katie did was perfection. She most definitely grew up to be perfect, whatever that meant. But there Alex was, forever 17 and too anxious to tell the boy he liked that he...well...liked him. 

As Alex’s anxiety started to increase in his chest, he suddenly felt a presence next to him. He glanced over to see that it was, of course, Willie. They had planned to meet here, anyways. Just like Willie had promised him earlier that week, they were going to spend that whole Sunday together. Caleb always gave his ghosts the day after Halloween off, and this was no exception. Not even for the ghost who practically betrayed him.

“You okay, Alex?” Willie asked. Alex took a deep breath.

“Yeah...yeah I’m fine. I’m just...thinking.”

“About last night?”

Alex shrugged, “Yeah, a little. It went well. My parents finally accept me.”

Willie grinned, “That’s a good thing. What was at your grave?”

“A pride flag. And they put on my epitaph that they love me for me. And, yeah, that’s nice to see now, but when I was alive, they put me through so much pain. I couldn’t be myself around my sister because she was so young. The only time I could kind of do it was when it was just me and her, and even then I couldn’t tell her anything. Not about my sexuality, not about the band, nothing. Even after what I saw yesterday, I’m not sure if she knows now. I bet she does, but I wonder what she thinks. I loved her so much, now I don’t even know what she thinks of me.”

He wiped away a tear and let out a shaky breath. He was starting to panic. Willie, noticing almost immediately, took Alex’s hands and rubbed rhythmic circles into his knuckles, just like he had done a few days before. Alex breathed with the pattern, and he calmed down a lot sooner than he had during his last panic attack. He was done shaking in less than five minutes.

“There we go,” Willie smiled, moving a piece of Alex’s hair out of his face, “better?”

“Definitely,” Alex nodded, “yeah. I feel better. Thank you, Willie.”

“No need to thank me,” he brought Alex’s hand up to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to it, “now, can I ask you something?”

Flustered, Alex nodded, “Yeah, what is it?”

“I know you miss your sister, and I know you told me you used to braid her hair, so I was wondering…” he took his long hair out of its messy bun and said, “will you braid mine?”

Alex took the hair tie, “You...want me to braid your hair?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve always wanted to, but I don’t know how. And, when I was alive, guys having braided hair was seen as ‘gay.’ Of course, I am gay, but the stigma back then was just so bad. But I’m dead and I’m with a cute boy who knows how to braid hair. So, will you?”

Alex swallowed a nervous lump and nodded. He got on his knees behind Willie, put the hair tie in his mouth, and got to work.

He didn’t have a brush, so he softly ran his fingers through Willie's thick, silky hair. It wasn’t that tangled, so Alex was able to straighten it out easier than expected. Even once the hair was at a desired smoothness, Alex didn’t stop brushing it out. He didn’t want to stop touching it. The first thing Alex had noticed about Willie when they first met was his hair. It basically moved in slow motion when he took his helmet off, letting his locks flow out of it. It was beautiful. Willie was beautiful.

After he brushed through his hair for a lot longer than he should have, Alex began to braid. He decided on a french braid, thinking it would suit Willie and be unique to see on a guy. He worked slowly, taking sections evenly. Willie’s hair was surprisingly really easy to work with. Too soon, he had made it to the end of the braid. He secured it with the hair tie, then loosed the braid by tugging on each little piece. Alex then, hesitantly, leaned over from behind and pressed a kiss to Willie’s cheek.

“All done,” he whispered.

Willie reached back to feel it, then turned around to face Alex. It looked as if he were shining, “Thank you so much. I love it.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, their eyes going between the other’s eyes and lips. The tension needed to be broken. So, Alex leaned in and down a little to capture Willie’s lips into his own, not a single thought coming in to advise him against it.

Willie’s hands came up to cup Alex’s jawline. Alex wrapped his arms around his waist and brought him higher, so they were both on their high knees. Their bodies were touching, and they were breathing each other in. If you asked Alex, he would have said it felt like magic. Maybe it was.

When they broke apart, Willie smiled and said, “I’ve been waiting for that to happen.”

“Me too.” Alex licked his lips, seeing if he can still taste Willie’s lips. He could, and he loved it.

“I’m going to have to find more time to sneak out and see you,” Willie teased, and luckily Alex didn’t tense at the thought of Caleb. He was just so happy to have Willie in his arms.

Alex chuckled, “Does this mean I can start calling you my boyfriend?”

“I hope so, because I’m going to start calling you mine.”

They shared a laugh, then kissed again. That whole day ended up being filled with laughs, touches, and kisses. And Alex was finally able to call this beautiful man his.


End file.
